Drying apparatus.



G. A; WENBORNE.

DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1911.

1,087,563. Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

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Patented Feb. 17, 1914..

Application men man 29, m1. sea: m.- 617,784.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WEN; nonnn, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State ofIllinois, havelnvented certain new and useful Improvements in D ryingApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The'main object of this invention is to drying room is a rectangularstructure with well insulated walls and ceiling. Aboutfifteeu-sixteenths of the cubic space therein 5 forms the dry roomproper. It reaches from.

end wall to end wall, and transversely from one side wall 1 to avertical partition 2 located near the opposite side wall 3 and arrangedto provide a narrow air duct 4, which is coextensive with thedrying'room 5, and communicates therewith both above and below thepartition 2. .The upper and'lower openings 6 and 7 are also-co-extensivewith the length of the room.

A heating coil 8 extends horizontally across the drying room and thepipes thereof are uniformly distributed over the hori zontal area of theroom so that the heating eflect will be uniform. This coil is supportedby transverse beams 9, preferably pipes. Above the coil 8 and spacedaway from it is a slotted floor 10, which supports the material to bedried. This floor is preferably built up of slats placed on edge, beingspaced apart by suitable spacer blocks '11 and fastened together bymeans of tie rods 12 extending through the spacer blocks 11.

. whole s the space 15 below it. To this end, the screen 14 is in theform shown built up of a series'ofparallel slats of V-shapedcross-section, spaced apart equally, but nested one within the next insuch manner that a straight line cannot be drawn through thealirtpassages without intersecting one of the s a s.

The partition 2 and screen 14 divide the ace into a rectangular dryingchamber an an L-shaped air duct which has a verticalleg 4 and ahorizontal leg 15 respectively coextensive with the vertical andhorizontal areas of the drying chamber 16. The partition '2 is air-tightand well insulated, and is toward the drying chamber 16 at its upperpart to provide a shelf I7 above which is mounted a condenser 18comprising a series of coils,

through which water may be circulated. Below the condenser 18 is a drippan 19, which is inclined toward the air duct 4 and has at its loweredge a trough '20. This trough isincl ined lengthwise of the drying roomso that the water collected by it will be discharged through a suitableoutlet pipe at the end of the kiln. Depending from the ceiling 21 inapproximate alinement with the partition 2, is a baflle'wall 22, whichextends downward to about the level of the upper row of coils of thecondenser and thus insures that all of the air flowing over the top ofthe partition 2 must pass into contact with the condenser in its passageto the air duct 4.

" The condenser has the effect of cooling the air and reducingitsability to hold moisture. The excess of moisture 1s condensed uponthe pipes of the condenser and is finally collected by the drip pan anddirected into the trough 20, which conducts it to the outside. Thecooled air in the vertical leg 4 of the air duct is heavier per unit ofhorizontal area than the heated air in the drying chamber 16. Thiscauses a downward air current in the duct 4 and an upward air current inthe drying chamber 16. The cooled air passes down through the duct 4,through the opening 7, and then flows along the floor, filling the duct15 with air of uniform temperature and pressure throughout thehorizontal area of that duct. The heating coil8 heats the airuniformlythroughout the entire area of the coil and the tendency of the air toflow upward is equal at all points. This equal flow is insured by thescreen 14:, which prevents the heat radiated from the heating coils fromentering the horizontal leg 15 of the air duct, and thereby insures thatthe air in said horizontal will be influenced only by the tendency Inprior constructions, where the radiation from the heating coils towardthe floor of the kiln has not been completely intercepted, the floorbecomes heated and the cold air coming in contact with it is therebyprematurely heated and caused to rise instead of distributing itselfover the entire area of the floor. This gives rise to an unequal aircurrent, that is, the upward current is stronger adjacent to the inletopening than at a distance from said opening, and results in suchirregularity in the drying action as to render such prior constructionsimpractical for dryin glued joints.

I am aware t at attempts have been made to correct this by the insertionof diaphragms and deflecting plates, but as far as I am aware, thisfault has never been successfully corrected prior to the erection ofkilns of in invention.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described, it will be understood that numei ous details of theconstruction shown may be A drying apparatus, comprising a dryingchamber an air duct having one end communicating with the upper part ofsaid chamber and the other end communicating with the lower part of saidchamber, heating means eXtendin floor and consequent precipitant risingof the air a support for the material to be treated located above saidheating means,

and a condenser'located in said air-duct.

Signed at Chicago this 25th day of March- CHARLES A. WENBORNE.

Witnesses:

EUGENE A. RUMMLER, EDWIN PHELPS.

across the chamber. above and near the ower end of the duct

